ink

Rating: 4.0 September 03, 2010 In addition to writing ink reviews, I love to cook. Over the years, I’ve compiled all of my favorite recipes into a Moleskine journal so that I have my very own recipe book. For a long while, I used a Sharpie pen, which has a high degree of water resistance. After my switch to fountain pens about a year ago, though, I recorded recipes in whatever fountain pen ink I had in a pen at the time – which, as I found out the hard way last week, generally have a very low degree of water resistance.

My ink collection keeps growing, and the organizer I have for them currently is beyond full - it’s about to start overflowing. As I was juggling ink bottles yesterday, I began thinking - if I had to downsize my collection (as opposed to finding a bigger space to store them, which is what I’m actually going to do), what inks would I keep? I’ve narrowed it down to five: J. Herbin 1670 - I like red inks, and this is my absolute favorite.

Rating: 4.0 August 18, 2010 J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier (red carob) is a bright red the color of cherry gumdrops. Using it makes me want to run out and buy a big bag of Swedish Fish, as it has low saturation, giving the ink a somewhat translucent feel – just like gummy candy. It exhibits a moderate level of shading in both calligraphy and fine nibs. Like other J. Herbin inks, Rouge Caroubier flows well.

Rating: 3.0 August 03, 2010 Noodler’s Widowmaker is a hard color to pin down, as it changes character based on the underlying paper. On the bright white paper of a Rhodia pad, it comes across as a very dark, earthy magenta, whereas on the cream color of a Moleskine notebook, it looks a bit like dried blood, with a brown cast to it. While the ink itself is highly saturated, and thus the hue doesn’t actually change, the contrast between the ink and the paper greatly affects one’s perception of it.

Loomi asked: Would you recommend an ink pen to start with Italic writing? I have seen videos of the Maby Todd pen with the gloriously flexible nib. refer to video linked at http://youtu.be/Z_hB8IYR69Q Is that one too advanced for a beginner like me?  What is a starting pen of Italic writing?  Excellent question! While italic and flexible nibs are both capable of producing significant line variation, there is a definite difference between the two.

Rating: 5.0 July 25, 2010 Noodler’s Kung Te-Cheng is a beautiful, imperial ink that is the color of sapphires dipped in an indigo dye. According to the manufacturer, this ink is their attempt to replicate the characteristics of the first royal ink of ancient China – an ink was used during government exams during the age of Confucianism. Due to the connection to Confucius, they have named it after his 77th direct descendant, Kung Te-Cheng (1920 – 2008).

Rating: 2.5 June 08, 2010 J. Herbin Vert Olive should be an ink that’s the color of olives, but it is not. Instead, it is the color of extra virgin olive oil – an ephemeral, translucent yellow-green – as backlit by a fluorescent light. One could also describe it as the color of Mountain Dew. Either way, it’s a color found somewhere in one’s kitchen. Its level of saturation is very low, but it does exhibit a very high degree of shading in both fine and wide nibs.

Rating: 4.5 May 29, 2010 J. Herbin Orange Indien reminds me of the wildflowers that grew in the front lawn of my childhood home and of the tiger lilies that lined the streets of my neighborhood. It is a sumptuous, moderately saturated ink that exhibits a high degree of shading in both fine and wide nibs. Like other J. Herbin inks, Orange Indien flows well. It is not as wet as Vert Empire or Blue Myostosis – behaving more like Café des Isles or Poussiere de Lune.

Rating: 5.0 May 16, 2010 I bet that if the devil ever asked you to sign a contract in blood, you could fool him by pulling out a fountain pen filled with J. Herbin 1670 anniversary ink. The color is called Rouge Hematite, after the mineral hematite, which derives its own name from the Greek word for blood. Justly so – there’s really no mistaking it – this is the color of ink you’d expect to be filling Dracula’s ink well.

Rating: 3.5 May 10, 2010 Noodler’s Shah’s Rose is an aptly named ink – I’ve had roses in my garden this exact color. It is a beautiful dusky pink, just slightly less purple than a true magenta. It is highly saturated, and I recommend shaking the bottle before using to make sure that the dye has not settled out. It exhibits moderate shading in wide nibs, but is extremely consistent in fine nibs.